police
Grief and anger: commemoration and demo for killed youth
In memory. photo
© Gregor Bauernfeind/dpa
There is still dismay in Dortmund after the deadly police operation. A memorial service calls for prudence. The grief for the 16-year-old at this event is followed by anger at a protest march.
First grief, then anger: In Dortmund, hundreds of people mourned the death of the youth who was shot by the police in Dortmund.
Representatives of the Muslim and African community in the city called for clarification at the commemoration event in a mosque, but also warned against prejudice. During a protest march through the city, however, the question was asked: “Who will protect us from the police?”
“I can feel that you are agitated,” said Dortmund’s Mayor Thomas Westphal (SPD) at the funeral service in the Abu Bakr Mosque, referring to the mood in the city. “Because a 16-year-old man died in a police operation in our city.” He felt a great shock. “We all need each other in this city,” he said. He emphasized that the rule of law is doing everything to clarify. You shouldn’t judge others in a matter where you don’t know exactly what happened.
demand for clarification
“The facts must be clarified,” demanded Ahmad Aweimer, spokesman for the council of the Muslim community in Dortmund, but made it clear: “We forbid any blame.” What is important now is cohesion in the city. “The fact that we’re all standing together today clearly shows that.” The imam of the African community, Abduramane Djaló, said that everything must be done to ensure that there is justice and that light is brought into the darkness. Representatives of the Protestant and Catholic churches also attended the funeral service.
According to the city, the youth from Senegal came to Germany in April as an unaccompanied minor refugee, and he had only arrived in Dortmund a few days before the police operation on Monday. He was shot dead by a police officer with a submachine gun after allegedly attacking officers with a knife.
The 16-year-old’s body was laid out in a coffin at the funeral service. According to Aweimer, attempts are still being made to establish contact with relatives. If they wish, the corpse would be transferred to Senegal, otherwise the youth is to be buried in Dortmund next week.
Ahmad Aweimer said on the sidelines of the funeral service that the mood in his community was shaken. For some immigrants, police action may evoke experiences and memories of discrimination that they experienced themselves. Some wondered if the police would have acted the same way if the youth had been white.
Serious allegations at protests
Serious allegations were then made during a protest march by the left spectrum and the African community through the city. “Who protects us from the police?”, “No Justice, no Peace” or “Who shot? – The police” was called, pictures of the dead man held up.
Comparisons were made with other black people killed by the police, such as George Floyd. It was asked whether eleven officers could not have stopped a young person in any other way. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the 16-year-old had been in a psychiatric ward shortly before, saying that there were suicidal intentions in the room.